White House dialogue has a shaky start

Common ground won't be found after only one meeting.

Published 12:00 am, Saturday, December 4, 2010

Only about a mile and a half separate the White House from Capitol Hill. On a nice day, you can make the walk along the National Mall in well under 30 minutes — if you're willing to try. If you're not, then the distance between the White House and the Capitol can be an impassable chasm.

In an effort to bridge that chasm, President Barack Obama invited GOP congressional leaders to the White House last month. The Republicans, however, said they just couldn't make it. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker-designate John Boehner had scheduling conflicts.

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That's not a good sign. No one expects bipartisanship to break out in Washington. But if gridlock is to be avoided, Republicans and Democrats at least need to be able to speak with one another.

Obama's invitation was welcome. Since his inauguration, he has done little to develop a working relationship with Republicans on Capitol Hill. In light of the shellacking voters handed to Democrats on Nov. 2, it was a stately if prudent move.

Assuming the scheduling conflicts were real and not contrived, the gracious thing for McConnell and Boehner to have done was to make whatever minor adjustments were necessary for them to make the short trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and meet with the president.

After all, he is the one leader who, unlike themselves, is elected by the entire nation.

The White House meeting was rescheduled for Nov. 30. “We had a very nice meeting today,” Boehner told reporters afterward. “Of course, we've had a lot of very nice meetings. The question is, can we find the common ground the American people expect us to find?”

Common ground won't be found and the problems of the federal government won't be solved in one brief meeting. But the president's invitation to Republican leaders and their willingness to make the trip to the White House to discuss those problems are small signs that they take their responsibilities seriously.